The Face: A Natural History

by Daniel McNeill

This "natural history" of the face unravels the surprising mysteries of one of the most familiar sights in everyday life, exploring the face's anatomy, its singularity, its ability to communicate, and its beauty.

Genres: Science, Psychology, Nonfiction, History, Sociology, Biology, Science Nature

384 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1998

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating overview of research, history and philosophy about the human face. I found myself constantly on the borderline of awe with Daniel McNeill because of how well-read he was on this topic and for the way in which he could weave all this together.

After an initial chapter that provides a truly intriguing tour of all the features of the face (did you know we lose 23 minutes a day of visual information from blinking?), McNeill goes on to explore such topics as beauty, emotional expression and lying. The only chapter that dragged a bit for me was a long one on the history of portraiture in painting and photography, along with caricatures, although I certainly understand why he included it.

If the book suffers from any flaw, it's that McNeill tries to cover so much ground from so many different angles that it sometimes creates a yearning for more detail and depth, particularly when he is describing some of the research that backs up his points. On the other hand, I can't begin to imagine all the reading and research he did to quote everyone from Aristotle and Freud to Sir John Gielgud and Herman Melville to make his literary and historical allusions.

Kudos to the breadth of research and his often highly inventive turns of phrase, and in any case, a book well worth exploring.

[dejah_thoris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a great book that wanders all over the face with anecdotes, history, science, literature, and other references to various parts of the face. Sounds strange when you read the summary but it's actually quite fun to read!

Disclaimer: As an overly well-read librarian, I was surprised to discover about 10-12 words I had to look up in order to understand a few sentences, most of which haven't been used since the 17th or 18th Century, like esculent. Not a giant problem but still surprising as most of the text is written for the layperson.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not stop talking about my "face book" with my co-workers while I was reading this book. Everyone was very confused about why I always talking about my "face book" and why I shared so many strange facts about faces. It was awesome. I want to reread this book.

[Alicia Zuto · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far this book is great. Really interesting and well thought out.I will update my review when finished but to be fair, I’m rating it what I feel it deserves so far. I always err on the side of positive when I am mid read

[Martin Willoughby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good writing and well presented. How we have viewed the face throughout history and how we view it now. Certainly not dull and in places very surprising.

[Alya AlShaibani · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25

Fun cute read

[Jane]

This is a book that skips around, but in a good way. He talks about the face and other aspects of communication like laughter. He intersperses quotes from literature and at times sounds poetic about emotions and language.

[Kyoungjin Lim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Face is not body part, but the universe.

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Must Read-1
Kept Attention-3
Meaningful-3

[Alan]

will this book be shitty pseudo-science? Probably. Will I love it anyway? A thousand times yes.